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For a guy who doesn’t even play centre, the Canadiens’ Andrew Shaw is pretty darn good at faceoffs.

Defenceman Shea Weber scored two goals in the Canadiens’ 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues Tuesday night at the Bell Centre and they both came directly off faceoffs. They were almost identical plays with Shaw, a right-handed shot, winning both draws on the backhand through his legs back to Weber on the point.

Stu Cowan: Andrew Shaw at centre of attention for CanadiensBack to video

“It’s satisfying, for sure,” Shaw said after practice Wednesday in Brossard. “Especially we have them (plays) drawn up for a one-timer with Weber. And for it to happen, it’s huge. Hopefully they keep coming like that.

“Faceoff plays are important and winning faceoffs are important,” Shaw added. “You want to control the puck, not be chasing it.”

Shaw, who earned assists on both Weber goals, won six of the eight faceoffs he took against the Blues and has won 55.48 per cent of the draws he has taken this season. While Shaw has been playing right wing on a line with Phillip Danault at centre and Max Pacioretty on the left, coach Claude Julien often uses Shaw to take key faceoffs, especially in the offensive zone. Shaw said he has three moves he likes to use in the faceoff circle and his favourite one is to win it on the backhand through his legs.

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Shaw said the rule changes brought in this season by the NHL to try and stop centres from cheating in the faceoff circle actually helped him.

“Before the (new rules) I had been doing the same thing,” he said. “So when they changed the rules on faceoffs, I think it played to my advantage because I never really spun. I never used my feet … more just timing and quickness. If you look, I’m probably one of the centremen, or guys who takes faceoffs, that gets kicked out of draws (the least). You can say I don’t cheat, I guess, on draws. On the forehand, I used to cheat a little bit more spinning, but I rarely take that side. I mostly kind of just try to win everything between my legs.”

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Shaw said quickness, timing and eye/hand co-ordination are the keys to his success in the faceoff circle. He helped develop those skills by playing a lot of ball hockey as a kid growing up in Belleville, Ont., and in 2010 was named the International Street and Ball Hockey Federation’s Junior Player of the Year after helping Canada’s U-20 team win the world championship in Austria.

Shaw was limited to 68 games last season — his first with the Canadiens after a trade from the Chicago Blackhawks — and suffered two concussions, one in the regular season and one in the playoffs. He has managed to stay healthy this season despite always playing bigger than his 5-foot-11 and 182 pounds. Winning puck battles is one of Shaw’s strengths, along with faceoffs.

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When asked after a recent practice if he was feeling 100 per cent this season, Shaw responded: “I don’t think I’ve felt 100 per cent since I was a teenager. You get used to it.”

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Shaw’s two assists Tuesday night give him 7-8-15 totals for the season with a minus-7 and a team-high 32 penalty minutes while playing in all 29 games. Shaw posted 12-17-29 totals last season and said it was a big adjustment for him getting used to a new team, new city, new teammates and coaches, and a different system after spending five seasons with the Blackhawks and winning two Stanley Cups. He also had to deal with the concussions.

“I’m not trying to make excuses,” Shaw said. “But it can be hard to find your game a little bit.”

Shaw is much more comfortable now both on the ice and off it in his home near the Canadiens’ Brossard practice facility. This past summer, Shaw married Chaunette Boulerice, who he first met in high school, and they have settled nicely on the South Shore with their three dogs: a 6-month-old Labradoodle named Millie, who is full of energy and picks on the other two, a tiny Maltese named Charlie, who Shaw calls a “cuddle bug”, and an 11-year-old Jack Russel Terrier/Beagle mix named Bailey.

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“Me and my wife are really excited to start having kids and we both love animals,” he said. “The dogs are fun … you come home and if you’ve had a bad day they’re always there, always wagging their tails and wanting to play, so it takes your mind off everything else and you can get away from the rink and just enjoy life.

“Dogs are man’s best friend.”

Shaw and the Canadiens will be back in action Thursday night when the Calgary Flames visit the Bell Centre (7:30 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN Radio 690).

You can look for Shaw in the faceoff circle for key draws in the offensive zone.

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